ADL Releases Tips for Post-Election Emotional Healing

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JNS.org— A major Jewish civil and human rights non-governmental organization released recommendations on how parents and educators can help young people “sort out” their feelings following “the outcome of the lengthy, emotional and controversial 2016 presidential election,” according to a statement released Thursday.

The Anti-Defamation League wrote, “Now, it’s time to support [children and teens] in processing their feelings, understanding what happened and thinking together about what to do next.”

Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the ADL, said in a statement that adults are “looking for ways to help our kids express their sentiments and guide them in internalizing what took place…It’s imperative that we help our kids…work through their fears.”

Allow young people to express their feelings; answer questions; Be honest about your personal thoughts and feelings; remain positive and explain that there are a variety of ways to be an activist including countering bias, bullying and stereotyping; tell them you will protect and fight for them, and discuss and monitor what young people come across on social media and encourage connecting with others.

Jinnie Spiegler, the ADL’s director of curriculum, said, “We need to be sensitive to young people’s needs at a time when they have many questions and concerns about the future of our country and what that means to them.”

In response to the release, Morton Klein, national president of the Zionist Organization of America, said the ADL’s materials are “anti-Trump” and “betray the cause of combating antisemitism.”

Klein said the ADL is participating in “divisive fear-mongering, encouraging fighting against the president-elect and promoting activism, including demonstrations, against him — all while ignoring the fact that president-elect Trump has proclaimed he will be a president for all Americans.”

“The Trump/Pence administration may well become the most pro-Israel administration in history,” Klein added. “[They have] pledged to take strong legislative and diplomatic actions to combat the antisemitic BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) campaign. They pledged to have the Justice Department investigate the coordinated intimidation of Jewish students on college campuses, and to pressure the Palestinian Authority to stop promoting hatred and violence against Jews in their schools, media and speeches. It is painfully wrong for the ADL to undermine the Trump/Pence administration even before they’ve taken office.”